Chapter 3

In that moment, as the henchmen closed in on him, Josh felt the familiar sensations of fear and desperation. These were two emotions he had sadly grown accustomed to, and now they swelled within him, leaving him with a sinking feeling of helplessness.

He instinctively began to back away slowly, searching for an escape route, but the henchmen were quick to surround him, swiftly cutting off any chance of getting away.

Carlos Rodriguez had a satisfied grin on his face as he observed the look of desperation and fear in Josh's eyes. Even though tried to hide the fear, it was becoming visible with each passing second, and Carlos couldn't resist mocking him. "What's the matter, boy, suddenly lost your voice?" He then turned his attention to the henchmen and gave them a cold command, "Teach him a lesson." Saying that he put his arm around Kathy.

With no way out and facing the overwhelming presence of the henchmen, Josh knew he was in serious trouble. But even so, he still refused to back down. He couldn't believe that not only did this man steal his girlfriend, but he had also ordered his henchmen to teach him a lesson.

As the henchmen approached him, Josh attempted to fight them, but it was no use.

They were bigger and stronger than him, plus they greatly outnumbered him, so they beat him up easily.

As Josh couldn't stand anymore he fell to the floor, groaning in pain. Two of the henchmen grabbed his hands and made him stand up, and then the other one of them landed a punch in his abdomen making him grunt in pain.

After landing a number of punches in his stomach and face, the henchmen let go of him. With the brutal beating he had just gotten, Josh was out of energy, so he couldn't stand and just collapsed on the floor. Josh had been bullied and beaten up by his classmates his entire life, but this was the worst beating he had ever received, it made him feel like he might not make it.

And the fact that the person he loved the most and trusted, would be responsible for this, made Josh want to die, it was a heartbreaking and painful experience.

Carlos Rodriguez and Kathy both had wicked smiles on their faces the whole time. Watching Josh get put in his place by the henchmen seemed to give them a lot of happiness.

Kathy shifted her attention to her new boyfriend, her expression turning sympathetic,. "Honey, I want you to make him apologize to you," she said, her voice dripping with affection as she gave Carlos a passionate kiss on the lips.

Carlos smirked, he liked the idea of josh apologizing to him. After all, Josh had insulted him not long ago, and it was only right that he apologized to him. "Honey, that's a great idea."

Kathy replied smugly, "I know."

Carlos gestured for his henchmen to make Josh get on his knees.

As Carlos gestured, his henchmen moved swiftly, forcing Josh to kneel against his will. Josh was in excruciating pain, barely able to maintain his balance as they made him kneel before the older man. His body ached, and his pride was shattered, but he refused to let them see how much he was hurting.

It was both humiliating and painful. As he raised his head, Josh's gaze drifted to Kathy, and his heart couldn't help but break even more when he saw the smile she had on her face. It was a smile devoid of any empathy for him, it was like she was enjoying seeing him in this state. He didn't know what was worse, the pain he was feeling because of the beating, or the pain his heart was in.

Carlos leaned forward, a satisfied look in his eyes as he looked down at Josh, who was clearly struggling. "Now, boy," he said,"apologize for your insolence."

Josh raised his head, his gaze meeting with Carlo's eyes, and he said, "Go to hell." There was no way he was going to apologize to the old man for nothing. Not after the man had put him in this state. He'd rather die.

Honestly, Josh was hoping for that. He just wished everything would just end, because he had nothing left anymore. No family, no friends or anything. He had just lost his job about an hour ago, and what hurt him more was that he had also lost his girlfriend to this old man, leaving him with nothing to live for anymore. He simply felt like…. nothing.

Kathy frowned at Josh, she was annoyed at him for refusing to apologize to her boyfriend. Approaching him, she looked into his eyes, saying, "Don't be stupid Josh, apologize and we'll let you walk out of here."

Josh gritted his teeth as he looked up at her and replied coldly, "Screw you, Kathy."

Not liking his response, Kathy slapped him across the face, her anger flaring. She leaned in close, her eyes locked onto his, and she said, "You wanna know something? I never really liked you, let alone loved you. The only reason I ever dated you in the first place was because me and my friends made a bet."

Josh was shocked to hear that. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Were the words coming out of her mouth true? Was it all pretend to her? "What?"

"What?" Kathy scoffed, her tone filled with disdain. "You really believed that I would date a nobody like you? Just look at yourself, Josh, you're so poor that it's embarrassing." Her words pierced through Josh's heart, adding even more pain to his already battered body and spirit.

Kathy then turned towards her boyfriend, saying, "Honey, let's go. You have to take me shopping, remember?"

Carlos smiled, turning his attention to Josh for a moment before looking at his security guards and instructing. "Boys, since this nobody won't apologize, I want you to break a few bones in his body before letting him go." Saying that he and Kathy made their way out of the restaurant, with two henchmen following behind them while the other two remained at the restaurant to carry out their orders.

Despite the intense pain coursing through his body, Josh summoned every ounce of strength and determination he had left. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to his feet, fueled by sheer willpower. He knew that the henchmen were likely to put him down again, following their orders, but he refused to remain on his knees any longer.

As Josh stood there, bracing himself for another round of beatings, the henchmen prepared to strike. The other diners in the restaurant, although watching in anticipation, remained passive, not wanting to get involved. They couldn't care less about the young man who they had seen getting beaten up, it was none of their business.

As the henchmen were about to advance on Josh, their intent clear, a sudden interruption caught them off guard. A woman, armed with a shotgun, appeared and aimed it squarely at the two henchmen. Her voice carried authority "Don't even think about putting your hands on that boy again," she warned, her finger lightly resting on the trigger, her eyes cold and determined.

The entire restaurant fell into uneasy silence, shock written all over their faces.

Josh was surprised, more than that relieved to see someone defending him.

The henchmen looked at the young woman, giving each other looks, before one of them said, "Lady, we don't know who you are, but mind your own business." He threatened. He worked for a powerful man and that gave him confidence to threaten the woman.

However the woman didn't show any fear after being threatened, she instead fired the gun in the air, and loud deafening noise filed the restaurant, followed by scream from some of the customers. Some of the customers couldn't stay after that and left, while some were to curious to see what was going to happen to leave.

The fact that she had fired that gun, just showed the henchmen that she meant business, and if they didn't do as she said they might end up getting shot. The henchmen shared a glance with each other, before they looked at Josh and then at the woman with cold expressions, but they didn't say anything and left.

As the two men left, the woman turned her attention to Josh, a concerned expression on her face. She approached him and asked, "Hey, are you alright?"

Josh, still in pain but immensely grateful, nodded and replied, "Yeah, thank you very much." He couldn't help but wonder why this woman had chosen to help him, but his physical discomfort made him reluctant to ask questions at that moment. He couldn't help but take a seat at a table.

The woman observed Josh carefully, her concern evident in her eyes. She knew he had taken quite a beating from those henchmen, and she wanted to ensure he received the necessary medical attention.

"Listen," She began, her voice gentle but firm, "You should really go to the hospital. You might have some injuries that need to be checked out, I'll drive you if you want."

Josh, still feeling the pain coursing through his body but too stubborn to accept help, shook his head and replied, "I'm fine, really. I've been through worse. Thanks for your help, though." He didn't want to bother her, she had already helped him a lot by standing up for him, something people rarely did for him.

The woman sighed, clearly unconvinced, but respected his decision. "Alright, but please take care of yourself. If you change your mind or need any assistance, don't hesitate to reach out. My name's Emily, by the way."

Josh offered a weak smile. "I'm Josh. Thanks again, Emily. You saved my skin back there."

With that, Josh headed towards the exit, a mixture of pain, gratitude, and confusion swirling in his mind. 'Wow, maybe there are still good people in this world,'he thought to himself. He pushed the glass door open and stepped outside.

Josh made his way out of the restaurant, his body still aching from the encounter with Kathy, Carlos, and their henchmen. He couldn't help but replay the events in his mind, the betrayal and humiliation, the heartbreak he felt. It was all so overwhelming. Even now, he couldn't believe that Kathy would turn on him like that.

As he stepped out onto the sidewalk, he spotted a sleek black limousine parked just a few feet away from the entrance of the restaurant.

However, his thoughts were still clouded with the recent events, and he decided not to dwell on it for too long. He continued walking. Just as he was about to pass by it, two well-dressed men in dark suits exited the vehicle simultaneously, their movements precise and calculated.

Before Josh could react or even voice his concern, the two men swiftly closed the distance between them and him. They grabbed him by each arm and began to forcibly drag him towards the waiting limousine, their grips firm.

Josh struggled and tried to break free, but his earlier beating had left him weakened and in no condition to resist the two imposing figures. Panic set in as he realized he was being abducted by these mysterious men, and he had no idea why or where they were taking him. "Hey- HEY! What are you doing?" Josh asked.

Once Josh was inside the luxurious black limousine, the two men released their grip on him and closed the door with a heavy thud. Josh tried to open the door, but it was locked.

Panic welled up inside him, and his gaze darted around the limousine. Across from him sat an elegantly dressed older man, puffing on a cigarette.

The man's eyes met Josh's, and Josh immediately knew who he was dealing with. This was the one calling the shots.

"Sir," Josh said, his voice trembling. "I don't know what's happening, but you have the wrong guy."

The man took a long drag of his cigarette before saying. "Josh, right?"

Josh was surprised that the man knew his name, he wondered how was that possible? He stammered as he asked, "How do you know my name?"

The man met his gaze as he replied, "I work for your grandfather."

Josh responded firmly, "As I said, you've got the wrong person, and the wrong Josh." He explained that he had been an orphan his entire life and didn't have any grandparents. After explaining that, Josh was hoping that the man would finally realize that he had the wrong person and let him go.

However, the man still insisted. He leaned forward and said, "Josh, I assure you, we have the right person. Your grandfather has been expecting you for a long time." As he said that, the man took out a document and handed it to josh, "Just to make sure that you were really the person we were looking for, your grandfather even did a DNA test a few weeks ago."

Josh took the DNA test results and looked at the them, while they were positive that still didn't convince Josh was thinking, 'This must be a mistake,' he was still unconvinced.

Josh's mind raced as he tried to make sense of the situation. The mention of a grandfather he had never known was perplexing. Could this be some kind of mistake, or was the man right.

The man looked at Josh and said, "All your questions will be answered soon enough, Josh. You're about to embark on a journey that will reveal the truth about your family and your destiny."